Anasazi

By Mister Bill

Dyan of the ANASAZI tribe takes us on his journey from boyhood to death. We are right there with him. Wondering what the screams mean. whose bones are in the cave. A bow, arrow and a spear. He and his family show great courage .Dyan, his two brave siblings make it an adventure for survival. Dyan learns how to fight for his life. Courage, love, beauty see him and his family through the tough times. He always wanted to know what happen to his Father. A time long ago about 1200 b.c.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781662435393

Book preview

Chapter 1

More than eight hundred years ago, somewhere in the southwestern part of what is now called the United States, I lived with my mother, sister, and younger brother. My name is Dyan (Dan). My mother is called Uesy (U-sy), my sister is Yans (Ans), and my brother is Kehu (Ke-u). We belonged to a people who called themselves the people of Anasazi. We were a tribe of Indians; our numbers were many, and our country was vast The Anasazi tribe had lived on our land for many, many years. I was raised listening to the stories of my ancestors. Anasazi men and women protected their families and their territory. We had little, but what we had, we valued deeply.

I was very proud to be an Anasazian. Our lives were filled with caring for and loving people; we were a people who were loyal to one another and always helpful to others. We lived in small villages where we worked our land and grew our food, corn mostly, but we also grew beans and peppers. Anasazi men hunted, while the women and children tended to the crops. The men helped with the crops when they were at home. Hunting was a vital part of our survival because the crops we grew could not supply us with all the food needed to survive.

My family circle had grown smaller. We did not have a father; he had been gone for over a year now. We did not know where Father was or if he was even coming back. He left one day on a hunting trip, and he has never been seen again. Mother said that he must have been killed by a wild animal or had a terrible accident because he would have come back if he had been able. Mother told us that Father would never run off and leave us on purpose, that he loved us and was dedicated to being our protector. When he went hunting, he was never gone more than two or three days and would almost always return with a deer or some other kind of animal that would provide us with food for a long time. His hunting trips had gotten a little longer before his last one. He said there were fewer wild animals now, and he had to go much farther away from home to find them. I wanted to go look for him, but Mother said I was too young, and besides, I was needed at home to help with the crops. My presence also helped my mother, sister, and brother feel secure.

Although most of our people were kind and caring, there were always a few that caused trouble and even sometimes killed their neighbor. The village elders would take their life when they were caught. Our law states that whatever you did to your neighbor, the same would be done to you. I liked this rule because it helped us all be friendly to each other. Several times I had watched some of the men go after someone who had hurt another person. When they brought him back to stand before the elders, I watched, as everyone else in the village did, the elders order the punishment to be carried out. I was reminded of the importance of our law.

The law said everyone in the village must attend punishment hearings, for the elders wanted everyone to know what would happen to them if they hurt or mistreated another. The rule did not only apply to the taking of a life, but to other harmful things like taking anything that belonged to someone else. The person who stole something would have to repay the one that he stole from. The elders made it very clear that whatever you do to hurt or harm your neighbor, the same shall happen to you.

As I thought about our laws, I wondered how anyone could hurt anyone else, but it had happened a few times in our village, and I had heard about it happening in other villages. I wondered if my father was hurt, and I wanted to go look for him, but I also knew I was needed here at home. I was only twelve years old, my sister was sixteen, and my brother was ten. It was about time for my older sister to find a husband, but she was not looking for a husband. She liked staying at home. I knew this would change if the right man came asking for her hand in marriage. My sister was very beautiful and looked like my mother. My younger brother and I looked like my father, Mama said.

One day I left the house to attend to my horses and after that went to the fields and pulled the weeds out of our corn and beans. I stopped and looked around. The hills and tall mountains were very beautiful. The sky was bright blue. It was a great day. I loved being out in the woods and fields. I would walk out into the woods and feel that the trees would talk to me and say, I am glad you are here. I noticed that the trees were green, but not as green as usual. Our weather had changed over the last few years. In the winter it snowed less, and in the summer, it rained less than usual. Some of our water supplies had dried up, and some of our crops had died in the field. There had not been enough rain to keep them alive, and I feared one day not enough for us. It had been changing year by year, but this year seemed worse than the one before. I worried for our people, for my family. Without the food Father usually brought home, we would have a hard time finding enough food for our family.

Several families had already left the village; they said they were going north to find meat to feed their children. Others went toward the west, but most of us were staying right where we were. All of us kept saying, It will be better next year. We lived in the hope that rain and snow would come again like they had in the years not so long ago.

I walked through the woods that day. The trees seemed to say to me that they were thirsty. Where are the rain and snow? I wondered, would my family have to move in order for us to find food and water? All these thoughts were on my mind as I left the woods and went into the fields to pull the weeds out of our corn crop. That night I asked my mother if it would be all right for me to go north and try to find us a deer for food. At first, she said, No, we need you here. We began to discuss the possibilities of running out of corn before the new crop was ready, and if it did not rain, not having a crop of corn at all.

Mother knew she had to let me go, for she had no other choice except to take the whole family to another land. After silence fell in our discussion, Mother said, You may go, for I will not leave this place until your father comes home. Then we will all leave together. I knew she meant every word of what she was saying. I had watched her go outside and look in the direction that my father had left every night before she slept. She would say out loud, We are waiting for you, my husband, and we will be here until you return. It was like she knew he would hear her call to him.

She looked at me with sad eyes and said, Tomorrow, you will go and find us some food for you are a good hunter. Your father has taught you well. But you will not be gone more than four days. You will not go away from this place more than a day’s ride so that you can get the fresh meat back to us before it sours. You will go to the mountain and wait for a deer to pass by. You will trap it and bring it home. If you do not find food in three days, you are to return home. Remember, we need you here with or without your kill. Your sister and brother will tend the fields. If we have to, we will bring water from the river to the fields to water the corn and bean plants. We will stay here until your father returns.

I looked at Mother and said, Father may never come back. He was probably killed by a wild animal.

Mother’s face grew angry. She stood up and said with a loud voice, Do not ever say that! Your father is alive, and he will come back to us. Tears came to her eyes. She turned and went outside.

In a few minutes, I followed her outside. I went up to her and told her that I was sorry I had made her cry. She looked at me as she rubbed her tears aside and said, It is not your fault that your father has not come back home. I’m sorry I spoke to you in that way. I gave her a big hug and went inside to sleep.

It was hard for me to get to sleep that night. I kept thinking about my first hunting trip alone that would begin the next day. Would I find us a deer? Would I get lost? Would I find my father? I did not want to tell my family that I was afraid to go that far away from home all by myself. I had never done that before. Always I had been with my father when I was far away from home. We missed him so, and deep down I knew I would never see him again. Because I believed I would never see him again, I knew I must become the one that my mother, sister, and brother could depend on for food and protection.

The morning sun came early the next day. I rose up, dressed, and went in for some food. Without saying a word, my mother handed me a pot with some dried beans and cornbread in it. I ate it all and then left the house to get my horse. When I returned, my mother, sister, and brother were standing out in front of the house. She had put some beans and corn in a pouch. I tied the pouch around my horse’s neck, and then without wasting time, I explained that I would go north for one day, get my traps, and would be back in the fourth sun. I gave them all a hug, jumped on my horse, and rode off. I looked back from the top of a hill and waved goodbye to them. I could see all three of them waving back. My mother and sister had one arm around each other, but my younger brother stood waving with both hands. How lucky I was to have a family that cared so much about me.

Chapter 2

I was ready now to find deer meat for my family. Father had taught me well how to hunt and how to travel by sun and stars. I kicked my horse in his sides, and off we went I had to make the day count as I could travel no farther north than I could ride in one day. Following the trail to the north was easy; it was used by all the hunters in our village. At some point, I knew I would have to leave the trail and find a spot that no one else knew about, a place where deer could be found, a secret place maybe. Someplace that even the animals felt safe.

Around midafternoon I stopped atop a hill. Looking around below me, I decided to leave the trail and go east. I thought I saw a valley in that direction, so I made my choice and headed to what looked like a good place to hunt. Just before dark, I knew I had gone as far as I could for one day. I came across some water seeping under some rocks; nearby was a small cave. I’d found water and shelter, so this seemed like a good place to camp for the next two days. I built a fire in front of the small cave.

Before sleep came, I sat inside the cave and listened for animal sounds to see how many or if any wild animals were in this valley. There were many sounds that night, most of them were familiar to me. I thought to myself, I have picked a good place to hunt. I was sure that I would get myself a deer tomorrow and then head back home. As I was about to go to sleep, I heard a scream—a terrible scream, like it was their last. The scream was only once, and then there was silence. A chill ran up my spine. I walked out of the cave to look around, but I could see nothing. I decided that I was just dreaming and went back into the cave and went to sleep.

The next morning, I carefully looked around for deer tracks. To my surprise, there were several signs that deer were nearby. I climbed a large tree near the cave and waited to see if a deer passed underneath. I was ready to kill it with my spear. I waited. I had tied my horse nearby in a field of grass. I looked back out over the valley. I could see nothing except trees and grass. No sign of any animal except my horse. After several hours, I climbed back down the tree and built a skid. I would need the skid to take the animal I hoped to kill back home. Without a skid, I would have to put the animal on the horse with me, but I hoped the animal would weigh too much for me to lift it or for my horse to carry it the long-distance home. Father had taught me about skids on one of our hunts together.

It took the rest of the day to finish building the skid. When darkness came, I built a small fire, ate, and went into the cave to sleep for the night. I brought my horse into the cave. She would not only be close-by if I needed her, but she would also alert me if something or someone came near the cave. Soon I was asleep for the night. Sometime in the very early morning, before daybreak, my horse began to move but did not make a sound. She rustled around enough to awaken me. I knew in my heart that someone or something was nearby. It was still very dark, and I could not see far from the front of my cave. Hopefully whatever was out there in the dark could not see me either. I quietly moved along the cave wall to my horse. I tried to assure her that everything was all right. My horse stopped moving around, and we both stood there for some time, listening for any sound coming from the dark woods.

All of a sudden, I realized that I was shaking all over and was very frightened. As I tried to calm down, I told myself there was nothing in the woods that would harm us, except I kept thinking about the scream I had heard last night. After a long time without any sounds coming from the trees, I decided if something had been out there, it was probably gone by now. As I lay down again, I placed my spear next to me on the ground. It was sometime later that I fell asleep again. Before I did, I realized that for the first time that I could remember, I was afraid for my safety. For this night I had been very frightened.

The next morning as the sun came up, I awoke intent on finding a deer and starting home as soon as possible. I did not like this place. I began looking around for signs of an animal being near the cave last night but found nothing. This made me feel good, but I knew that there was something near my cave last night. I wondered if I would be able to stay here another night.

I had promised Mother that I would return in four days, so tomorrow I had to return home. I thought if I could not catch a deer, maybe I could catch a small animal. So in one place, I built a snare and in another place, I put a trap and baited it with cornbread. Then I went up a tree in another location to wait. Again, most of that day I sat waiting, but there was not a sign of anything. I began to wonder if I would have to go back and tell Mother that I was not a good hunter. This I did not want to do. I came down from the tree and set out on foot to look for something, anything, to kill and take home to my family.

As I quietly looked through the thick woods for any sign of an animal, I heard my horse bellow back at the cave. Without hesitation, I ran toward the